July 9 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Brayan Bello, Ben Lively, Jose Quintana and More
A look at Tuesday's probable starters who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
With the announcement of MLB’s All-Stars, it got me into my annual thought process about the rule that each team must be represented at the mid-season classic. It’s nice for every fan to see a player from their favorite team on the big stage, but it also leaves out guys who are replaced by less deserving players.
There are similarities to the NFL’s Pro Bowl, where a combination of Super Bowl teams, injuries and guys just generally not giving a f*** often means replacements are brought in who would otherwise never be honored as one of the league’s best. It doesn’t really matter that much in the grand scheme of things, but All-Star games are something we use to judge the greatness of a player’s career, so it could have a large effect on certain unlucky players.
Keeping focus on the regular season, let’s look at Tuesday’s probable starters (according to MLB.com) who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups, creating streaming value. Most stats and rankings are from MLB. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
Brayan Bello, Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics
Bello has been highly inconsistent, looking like a young star at times but unable to produce a quality start too often. His last outing against Miami was closer to the former, as he struck out seven batters in 6.2 innings while allowing just one run. His season strikeout and walk rates are just a pinch worse than average, so there’s reason to think Bello can be an average pitcher moving forward.
Oakland is one of several teams already planning for next year (and maybe beyond). They are second in most batter strikeouts and in the bottom five in runs scored, hits, batting average, on-base percentage and OPS. They hit home runs at a good clip, but that’s far from enough to sport anything near an average offense.
Bellow is a mid- to high-level streamer. His highs are those of a fantasy keeper, so it’s reasonable to expect solid performances against the weakest offensive teams.
Dean Kremer, Baltimore Orioles vs. Chicago Cubs
Kremer has allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight of his 10 starts, each lasting at least five innings. The most recent was a five-inning, eight-strikeout performance against Seattle last Wednesday. Kremer has struck out more than 25% of the batters he has faced this season but has also walked a few too many. It’s worked out to an ERA a little under 4.00, and he could help himself by finding more control.
Chicago batters walk a lot (fourth most) but also strike out a lot (seventh most). A team that was supposed to compete for the playoffs is seven games under .500 and 11 back in their division; the offense is a big reason why. The Cubs rank in the bottom 10 in home runs, batting average, slugging percentage and OPS.
Kremer is a mid-level streamer with some upside. His strikeout ability matches up well with Chicago, giving him a nice ceiling albeit with a bit of a lower floor.
Ben Lively, Cleveland Guardians @ Detroit Tigers
Detroit has been bad for a while and is surely hoping for their young players to blossom. Some of it is good: Riley Greene leads the team in runs scored, hits, doubles, triples (tied), home runs, RBIs, walks and all four slash categories (he also leads the team with 100 strikeouts). Other guys, though, haven’t yet panned out, like 2020 top overall pick Spencer Torkelson, who was sent back to the minors after hitting around .200 with just four home runs in 209 at-bats. The future still means more than the present for the Tigers.
Lively continues posting career-best numbers essentially across the board, following the path of many veterans who join Cleveland and experience something of a renaissance. Better-than-average walk and (especially) strikeout rates are most important and are helping lead to an ERA and WHIP near 3.15 and 1.15, respectively.
Lively is a mid- to high-level streamer here. He keeps on keeping on, and Detroit is heading the wrong way as we near the All-Star break.
Adam Mazur, San Diego Padres vs. Seattle Mariners
Mazur’s first MLB action hasn’t gone well: He has allowed 22 runs in 26.1 innings with 15 strikeouts and 17 walks. Considering his lack of strikeouts in the minors (less than one per inning), there’s not a lot of hope for a big performance from Mazur. If he doesn’t find his control, Mazur won’t be in the big leagues long.
If any team can help him find more K magic, though, it’s the Mariners. Seattle batters have struck out over 60 more times than second-place Oakland while ranking in the bottom five in runs scored and all four slash categories.
Mazur is a low-level streamer. This is truly a matchup of the weak against the lowly, so Mazur has a chance to find a little success, but his poor major league numbers don’t portend good things.
Jose Quintana, New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals
Quintana is a quintessential streamer, sporting a strikeout rate, walk rate and ERA all a little better than league average in his career. His performance is waning, though, and those numbers have all crept to worse-than-average levels in 2024, but he still offers fantasy value against the right lineups.
Washington is one of those lineups. They have a few guys to be excited about, including newly promoted James Wood, who has eight hits and a home run in only 29 at-bats. Wood is one of the players who came over when the Nationals sent Juan Soto to San Diego; he was joined by CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore, maybe the best hitter and pitcher currently on Washington’s big-league roster. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them looking much better as soon as next season, but the Nats are still a bottom-10 offense in 2024.
Quintana is a low- to mid-level streamer. While his lack of strikeouts has sapped a lot of his previous value, Quintana is still capable of throwing quality innings and providing some fantasy value.
Colin Rea, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh is kind to pitchers. Don’t tell the Mets, who just gave up 26 runs to the Pirates in four games over a long weekend, but I’m also not going to base my future decisions on what happened to the Mets. The Pirates are in the bottom 10 in most offensive box stats and rank fifth in most batter strikeouts.
While Rea hasn’t struck out many guys (just 66 in 94.1 innings), he has otherwise had a good year, limiting walks and home runs better than last season, which was his first in the MLB with 100 innings since 2016. Milwaukee has been a strong team, and Rea surely benefits from a squad that usually rates well in defensive advanced stats (which are notoriously fickle).
Rea is a mid-level streamer here. His lack of strikeouts will keep him out of the top tier, but Rea has otherwise pitched well and has a good chance at a quality outing in this one.
Tuesday’s Streamer Rankings
- Brayan Bello, BOS
- Ben Lively, CLE
- Dean Kremer, BAL
- Colin Rea, MIL
- Jose Quintana, NYM
- Adam Mazur, SD
